FREDA SWAIN (1902–1985) : Summer Rhapsody for viola and piano (1936); English Reel for viola and piano (1958); Song at Evening for viola and piano (1958); Sonata for cello and piano in C minor (1923); Piano Quartet in G minor (1950). World Premiere Recordings. Lorraine McAslan, violin; 
Sarah-Jane Bradley, viola; 
Tim Lowe, cello; 
Timon Altwegg, piano.

Description: Freda Swain was born in Southsea, on the southern coast of England, on 31 October 1902. Her father, a musician himself, recognised and encouraged her musical talent. By the age of eleven she was travelling to London on her own by train, to have piano lessons at the Tobias Matthay Pianoforte School. Later, she remarked that these early journeys gave her a firm feeling of independence, which she retained throughout her life. It may also explain her character, described by almost everyone who knew her as “strong,” which not only failed to gain her friends (quite the opposite!), but might be a partial explanation for the subsequent neglect of her music.